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Digital Strategy and Innovation for Sustainable Business Development

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 17 July 2026 | Viewed by 15

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Statistical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Interests: statistical tools for the sustainable transition; data (big) and metrics for sustainability transitions; data driven strategy; sustainable consumption; consumer behavioral change for sustainability; eco-innovation; green marketing; food systems sustainability; digital nudging; quantifying sustainability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the face of growing environmental, social, and economic pressures, organizations are increasingly called upon to rethink their strategies and adopt innovative approaches to enable sustainable development. Sustainable business in this context refers to business models and practices that balance environmental protection, social responsibility, and economic resilience.

At the same time, digital transformation and the growing availability of data— alongside advances in statistical methodology and data science—offer powerful tools to support this transition. These resources open new pathways for responsible innovation, circular business models, real-time monitoring, and evidence-based decision-making across sectors.

Among the many domains where these dynamics are evident, food systems represent a particularly illustrative case. Food production and consumption are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, and unsustainable resource use. Data-informed interventions—such as menu redesigns prioritizing plant-based options—have been shown to shift consumer behavior. Mobile apps, online platforms, and digital campaigns are now essential for promoting sustainable diets and reducing food waste. This example highlights how digital and data-driven tools can support sustainability in practice.

However, the scope of this Special Issue goes far beyond food. We invite contributions that explore the role of digital technologies, data, and statistical tools in enabling sustainable business across a wide range of sectors, including (but not limited to) energy, mobility, fashion, manufacturing, tourism, public administration, and education.

This Special Issue of Sustainability, titled “Digital Strategy and Innovation for Sustainable Business Development”, aims to bring together theoretical and empirical research, methodological advancements, and case studies that demonstrate how digital innovation and data analytics can help organizations and societies transition toward sustainability.

We welcome interdisciplinary contributions that address applications across different actors and scales—from firms and supply chains to consumers, policymakers, and institutions—and encourage submissions with practical and policy-relevant implications.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Digital strategies and novel data sources for sustainability;
  • Role of AI, IoT, and big data in enhancing ESG performance;
  • Digitalization and its effects on eco-innovation and firm performance;
  • Digital nudging and behavioral change toward sustainable consumption;
  • Measuring environmental consciousness using digital sources (e.g., social media analytics);
  • The impact of digital communication and marketing on green purchasing behavior;
  • Statistical modeling and inference for sustainability metrics and impact evaluation;
  • Composite indices and digital metrics for assessing sustainability;
  • Data analytics and statistical methods for real-time monitoring and reporting;
  • Evaluation of digital policy tools and sustainability-oriented interventions;
  • Applications to sustainable food systems (e.g., consumer perceptions of plant-based diets, digital labeling, gamification, and alternative proteins);
  • Sector-specific case studies showcasing digital tools for sustainability transitions.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Ida D'Attoma
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • data, metrics, and statistics for sustainability transitions
  • consumer behavior change
  • food systems sustainability
  • measuring sustainability dimensions using digital sources
  • eco-innovation
  • green marketing
  • digital nudging
  • evidence-based decision-making

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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